Filmstudy - Filmstudy is a sophisticated and comprehensive statistical analysis of the Ravens defense that incorporates a participation-by-play tracking system. This unique analysis is the brain child of the author and provides our readers with the real story behind the Ravens’ top end defensive results in the National Football League. Make Russellstreetreport.com the source for all of your Ravens football news and the forum to talk about what the Ravens fans want to hear most.

Lombardi’s Way - A column from the 24×7 founder that focuses on the Ravens, the NFL, Baltimore, the world of sports or life’s inspirations.

Word on The Street - In the spirit of the CBS Sports Minute with Boomer Esiason, RSR brings you Word on The Street, a 90 second (or less) podcast on topics exclusively relating to the Baltimore Ravens.

20 For 20 - In 2015 the Baltimore Ravens will celebrate their 20th season in Charm City. This series pays homage to 20 unforgettable events that have occurred since Art Modell arrived.

Camp Notes - Let Russellstreetreport.com be your eyes and ears on the practice field. Whether it’s Rookie Camp, Mini Camp or Training Camp, we are there 24×7 to provide you with all of the details from that day’s Raven’s practice. If you can’t make it to camp, check in with our Ravens news writers and you will feel as though you were there. Need proof? Check out our camp note archives from camp practices earlier this Spring.

Flashback Friday - A look back on some previously posted articles which today look silly, comical, spot-on or interesting in a retrospective kind of way.

Tale of the Tape - Breakdown of key plays that made a difference in the outcome of a Baltimore Ravens game.

The past handful of seasons, Ray Lewis has often dodged questions regarding his future and how long he’ll be able to extend his Hall of Fame career.

On Wednesday, that wasn’t the case.

As he has done so many times before, Lewis gathered his teammates in an effort to motivate and inspire those in his presence. His peers received Lewis’ message – but it wasn’t the one that they were expecting.

In fact, they were shocked.

Lewis informed his fellow teammates and coaches that he would retire at the conclusion of the Ravens’ playoff run – an announcement that most figured would eventually happen sooner rather than later but weren’t expecting at the given time.

The fact that so many – even those closest to Ray – were caught completely off guard by the announcement makes you wonder why he chose to do it when he did. To borrow from Lewis…”bottom line,” he knows exactly what he’s doing.

After spending twelve weeks of aggressive rehabilitation on a torn triceps muscle and practically defying common medical knowledge to get back on the field, Lewis’ next challenge is to motivate his teammates to play for something special, something greater, than just the thought of a Super Bowl ring.

Lewis will never admit it, but the reason he chose to disclose his retirement plans now could be to use himself as a ploy and give his inconsistent 10-6 team something to play for.

The Ravens have won four consecutive games twice so far this season and will need to do it once again if Lewis will ever have the chance to raise the Lombardi trophy again. In order to advance to the next round, they must overcome a very motivated 11-5 Indianapolis Colts team that looks to extend a storybook season at the Ravens’ expense on Sunday.

Unless both the Ravens and Bengals make a run through their first two playoff games, Lewis’ final game at M&T Bank Stadium in front of 70,000 purple clad fans will be on Sunday. While playing at home is special for any NFL legend, Lewis’ entrance and subsequent “squirrel” dance is good enough that even opposing teams stop warm-ups to watch.

It just seems wrong that a player who is almost as big as the franchise would walk off the field without fans knowing if it was the last time they’d ever see him play. There is a reason M&T Bank Stadium has one of the most threatening home field advantages in the NFL and that reason is Ray Lewis.

He has inspired a fan base and a city plenty of times before but Lewis’ decision to announce his retirement at the end of the season as the team prepares for a playoff run was a well orchestrated move. At a time where the team needs more inspiration than ever before, Lewis may have pulled off one of his greatest feats.

And, if the Ravens come up short, at least the fan base knows that if they want to watch #52 walk out on the field one last time in Baltimore, they’ll have that chance on Sunday.

It just seems right.

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About Kris Jones

Kris - or "Goob" as he's widely known - has turned an obsession into a career. As a media member by day and super fan by night, he reports from the Under Armour Performance Center twice per week and brings Ravens news from a fan's perspective. His popular YouTube series Goobvision propelled his career and notoriety amongst Ravens fans, even helping him win the 2010 nationwide DIRECTV Ultimate Displaced Fan contest. He's been featured on shows such as The Jim Rome Show, ProFootballTalk Live, The Sirius XM Blitz with Rich Gannon and Adam Schein, Sirius XM's MadDog Radio, The Michael Irvin Show, Tony Bruno Show, Two Live Stews and FoxSports.com to name a few (or is that a lot?). He's caught a touchdown pass from Warren Moon during a flag football game and hates the Pittsburgh Steelers more than anyone else on the face of the earth.
Twitter: RavenManiac More from Kris Jones

Filmstudy - Filmstudy is a sophisticated and comprehensive statistical analysis of the Ravens defense that incorporates a participation-by-play tracking system. This unique analysis is the brain child of the author and provides our readers with the real story behind the Ravens’ top end defensive results in the National Football League. Make Russellstreetreport.com the source for all of your Ravens football news and the forum to talk about what the Ravens fans want to hear most.

Lombardi’s Way - A column from the 24×7 founder that focuses on the Ravens, the NFL, Baltimore, the world of sports or life’s inspirations.

Word on The Street - In the spirit of the CBS Sports Minute with Boomer Esiason, RSR brings you Word on The Street, a 90 second (or less) podcast on topics exclusively relating to the Baltimore Ravens.

20 For 20 - In 2015 the Baltimore Ravens will celebrate their 20th season in Charm City. This series pays homage to 20 unforgettable events that have occurred since Art Modell arrived.

Camp Notes - Let Russellstreetreport.com be your eyes and ears on the practice field. Whether it’s Rookie Camp, Mini Camp or Training Camp, we are there 24×7 to provide you with all of the details from that day’s Raven’s practice. If you can’t make it to camp, check in with our Ravens news writers and you will feel as though you were there. Need proof? Check out our camp note archives from camp practices earlier this Spring.

Flashback Friday - A look back on some previously posted articles which today look silly, comical, spot-on or interesting in a retrospective kind of way.

Tale of the Tape - Breakdown of key plays that made a difference in the outcome of a Baltimore Ravens game.